Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has accused Tesla CEO Elon Musk of 鈥渞emotely disabling鈥� his Cybertruck, which had been sent to the frontline of Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine.
Kadyrov claimed Thursday that the vehicle, which he said had been outfitted with a machine gun and was 鈥減erforming well in combat,鈥� had been shut down, adding Friday that he had sent two additional Tesla Cybertrucks to the frontline.
The Chechen warlord, known for his loyalty to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his active involvement in Russia鈥檚 ongoing military operations in Ukraine, shared footage of himself in August driving a Cybertruck and claimed it was a gift from Musk. In the video, a smiling Kadyrov was shown driving through an empty square in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, and thanking Musk for the vehicle 鈥渟oon to be sent to the front.鈥�
Musk, however, firmly denied sending it. 鈥淎re you seriously so retarded that you think I donated a Cybertruck to a Russian general?鈥� he wrote at the time on X, the social media platform he owns.
Kadyrov repeated his claim earlierthis week as he lamented that the high-tech vehicle had to be towed from the battlefield, saying: 鈥淲hat Elon Musk did was not nice. He gives expensive gifts from the heart and then remotely switches them off.鈥�
鈥淭wo more Cybertrucks have been sent to the SVO (Ukraine war) zone,鈥� the warlord added Friday, posting a video of two Tesla trucks in a forested area, each armed with mounted machine guns. The video shows men in military uniforms firing from the roofs of the vehicles.
鈥淭he remote shutdown did not affect these vehicles. They are operating normally, without any failures,鈥� he said on Telegram. 鈥淵ou couldn鈥檛 ask for better advertising for the Cybertruck.鈥�
CNN has reached out to Tesla (TSLA) for comment on his claims.
Musk unveiled the Tesla Cybertruck, which is fully electric as all of the company鈥檚 vehicles, in 2019 in Los Angeles. Retail prices for the Cybertruck start from around US$90,000 in the United States.
Kadyrov, who was installed as Chechen leader by Putin, has been criticized for decades for alleged human rights violations. The US State Department sanctioned him in 2020, saying it 鈥渉as extensive credible information鈥� that Kadyrov was responsible for 鈥済ross violations of human rights,鈥� including torture and extrajudicial killings. He has also been sanctioned by the United Kingdom and European Union.
